


Regrowth

by Dyce



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-22 04:43:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9584114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dyce/pseuds/Dyce
Summary: Aang introduces his firstborn to Hei Bai. (Drabble originally posted on Tumblr)





	

Aang stood among young trees and tangled grass, a burned skeleton of a tree still rising here and there among the new growth.

“I have a son,” he told the statue quietly, holding up the tiny bundle of yellow cloth. “I… we were in the area, and I wanted to tell you about him. He doesn’t have a name yet - we’re still arguing about that. I’m not sure if I want to name him for Bumi or Gyatso, and his mother has people too, and… well, it’s a thing.” He looked down at his son’s little round face. For now, it was serene in sleep, and just looking at it made Aang’s chest ache.

It was scary, knowing that the future of the Avatar and the balance rested entirely on him, and the tiny person in his arms. The Air Nomads had never had a large population, and they’d kept themselves to themselves in a, well, reproductive way. Though outsiders came in sometimes, like Guru Pathik, they rarely left, and nor did their children if they had any. There might be a few people with a trace of Air Nomad blood, but not enough.

It was only him. Only his blood carried the gift of airbending strongly enough. Only he could rebuild what Sozin had destroyed. It was a terrifying burden, and one that would be inflicted on his son too, on all his children…

A black nose entered his field of vision, sniffing the baby’s head carefully. Aang looked up, and smiled at Hei Bai. “He smells good, doesn’t he? I don’t know what it is about baby hair, but it smells really great.”

Hei Bai cocked his head, looking interested.

“I don’t know if spirits have babies. I guess not. But… this one’s mine. And you were the first spirit I really met, not counting my own past lives. So I kind of wanted to introduce you. Because he’s really important to me.” Aang’s voice wobbled, and he sniffed a little. “And it’s scary, being all there is, you know? I mean, I have the baby now, but I don’t know if he’ll be an airbender. I won’t know for years. What if none of them are? What if I screw this up somehow, or I don’t train them right, or - ”

Hei Bai grunted, and leaned forward, his nose brushing Aang’s forehead then dipping down to nuzzle the baby briefly. Then he vanished.

“Oh.” Aang swallowed. “Uh, bye, I guess.” Gee, you try to pour your heart out to a friend and -

He looked down, and his throat tightened painfully. Tucked into a fold of yellow cloth, just under the baby’s chin, there was a single acorn.

Aang looked around at the green regrowth where there had only been blackened earth and the skeletons of trees. “Thank you,” he whispered, his voice cracking and his vision suddenly blurred by tears. He looked down at his son, rubbing the back of his hand across his eyes. “I told Hei Bai once that his forest would regrow,” he whispered, as the baby’s round eyes blinked open. “I think he’s trying to say that ours will too. And you know what? I think he’s right.” He paused. “I don’t think your mom’s going to let me name you Acorn, though. Maybe I should save that for a nickname.”


End file.
